SANTA CLARA — Rather than draft Stanford tight end Zach Ertz earlier Friday, the 49ers waited to pick up a tight end 21 spots later in Vance McDonald from Rice.

McDonald was selected with the 55th overall pick, but only after the 49ers traded the Green Bay Packers for that spot by giving up the 61st pick and a sixth-round choice (173rd overall).

"I kind of had the feeling it would be someone coming out of left field and that's pretty much what happened here," McDonald said in a conference call with Bay Area media.

The 49ers entered Friday with the second pick of the second round (34th overall). With Ertz on the board, the 49ers traded down with the Tennessee Titans for the 40th pick (which they used on defensive lineman Tank Carradine), a seventh-round choice (216th overall), as well as a 2014 third-round pick.

Ertz, who played under 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh at Stanford, was selected 35th overall by the Philadelphia Eagles.

McDonald addresses one of the 49ers' need positions, created by backup tight end Delanie Walker's free agency exit to the Tennessee Titans.

Walker was a multi-dimensional asset for the 49ers offense behind starting tight end Vernon Davis. McDonald freely admitted he has a lot to learn when it comes to blocking.

"That was the good thing about this past senior year, being moved in line to play the true tight end, traditional position," McDonald said. "I know I'm very underdeveloped and have a lot of raw potential. That's one area I put a lot of emphasis on."

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McDonald, a native of Winnie, Texas, is listed at 6-foot-4 and 261 pounds. As Rice's captain, he had 36 receptions for 458 yards and two touchdowns while earning All-Conference USA honors. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds.